The Santayana Conundrum
by Dr. Mousse
Summary: It's inevitable, isn't it? There are two sides to the well, but she's only got one life. Kagome struggles to reconcile past and present. Meanwhile, the modern world needs heroes too.
1. The Girl Who Could Not Overcome Time

**A/N: Hello, hello. If this story seems in any way familiar, it is because it evolved from another story I wrote some time ago, but it is really quite different. I have checked and I don't believe this is in violation of site rules. **

**If there are any spelling Nazis in the audience, you may find I write a little differently (yet still legitimately) because I'm not American. **

**Also, I refuse to write a disclaimer for every chapter. Just take it as a given.**

_**Allons-y**_**. **

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… … … … …

'_Though we know that time has wings, we're the ones who have to fly.' –Rush_

… … … … …

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Koenma narrowed his eyes at his most successful spirit detective team.

"Is that understood?" he asked.

Kurama nodded, Hiei remained blank and Yusuke shrugged disinterestedly. Looking around, Kuwabara rolled his eyes.

"Sure thing, Boss." He answered for the group.

"Actually, I got a couple of questions." Yusuke was frowning. "Like, where the heck does power like that come from? How can something like that have slipped under your radar for so long? It's insane!"

Koenma had the grace to look embarrassed. He fiddled with his dummy, and looked suspiciously pink.

"Look," He blustered. "I'm not perfect. The answer is- I just don't know. I don't know how we could have missed it, where the heck it's been hiding all this time, or even _why_ something with that much power would bother hiding in the first place. Because trust me, if that thing wanted to rule the world, it would be doing it right now."

"You don't even know what 'that thing' is," sneered Hiei. "Pathetic."

Kurama, who had been silent throughout the discussion, had been having a conversation of his own.

_Youko? Do you have any idea what could be responsible for that sort of power release?_

_I can't say it's something I've personally felt before, but I have this vague feeling that I have heard of this kind of attack … a long time ago, by human standards, that is. I feel like I've forgotten something important…_Youko snarled in frustration.

_That's a start, at least. Koenma has given us less to work with._

_Though I hate to admit it, I agree with the human brat. What the hell has Koenma been doing, sucking on a bottle for the last thousand years? Puts an interesting spin on how safe your humans have been all this time, doesn't it?_ Youko laughed viciously.

Kurama was unimpressed in the face of his demon side's amusement. _Knowing that you're day-dreaming about the extinction of my race just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside._

_Why would I do that? If ningen became extinct then I wouldn't be able to do _this _anymore-_

_Youko!_Kurama spluttered as several vivid images of Youko's past experiences of ningen were pushed to the forefront of his mind. His past _sexual _experiences with ningen, that was.

_You are disgusting, Fox. You call yourself a demon? I don't know how you stomach those creatures._Hiei joined the conversation.

Youko abandoned the torture of his human half and turned his attention to the hybrid, sensing a second victim.

_Just because you've never tried it, runt, doesn't mean it's not great. But if you're not that way inclined you are more than welcome to-_

_I may just have to cut off your balls if you finish that train of thought, Fox,_Hiei ground out.

_That's__my__body you're talking about. Don't even try it, Hiei._Kurama objected. Strenuously.

Youko couldn't resist a final word on the subject._ Don't say I didn't offer, you sexually repressed bastard. At least__I __have fun._

_One of these days, Hiei, you are going to eat your words..._ Kurama predicted.

…_Hn._

Meanwhile, Koenma had been trying to get Kurama's attention. The red-head appeared to be deep in thought, and had not even looked up when Koenma snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"Kurama? Kurama! Kooo-raa-"

"Huh?"

"I _said_, does Youko have any helpful suggestions?"

"Oh, my apologies. I just asked him, and the answer is no. He says he's heard of something similar in the past but he can't remember exactly where…" Kurama trailed off. "He says if he remembers anything a little more specific he'll let me know, though."

"Alright then…" Koenma sighed, dragging one hand across his forehead. "It was a long shot in any case… Which means you lot are free to go. But I want you all to keep your eyes, ears and other more extended senses," here he looked at Kuwabara, "Open. And don't forget that I want you to meet me here for more specific details of the case before your mission tomorrow! Off you go, then."

The detectives had barely begun turning for the door when Koenma flung up his hand. He fixed a questioning stare on the black-haired punk of the group.

"Actually, I do have one last question… Yusuke, what the hell happened to your face?"

… … … … …

Kagome stared thoughtfully at a small bottle of medicine before chucking it into her back-pack alongside the kilometres of bandages and the whole oceans of antiseptic she had already packed. After all, you could never have enough medicine. _Not with that lot around, anyway_she grinned ruefully, thinking of her companions.

She did a final check of the room, but she knew she was ready. She had her homework, a change of clothes, snacks, matches, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner… so why did she still feel like something was missing?

_Oh, right,_ she caught on. _The__jewel shards__. I was_not_about to try jumping down the well without them. Well, I wasn't going to go to the Feudal era without them. Because… Because the well doesn't work without them. Right!_She smiled for a split second before visibly wilting. _Oh geez. I'm an idiot._

"Damn you, Inuyasha. Stop screwing with my head!" she mumbled under her breath. It was quite enough that she was shutting herself down inside her own head. She didn't need any family members getting a glimpse of the steaming pile of crazy that was Kagome's Inner Monologue. _No, no. Best to keep that to ourselves, eh?_

Anyway, as far as she was concerned, any craziness was absolutely, one hundred and ten percent not of her own doing. It was dog-demon induced psychosis, a condition running rampant in The Little Village That Could, the one which would grow up to be modern-day Tokyo. In fact, Kagome was all too familiar with the disorder. In the Feudal Era, where dog demons were much more likely to break your bike (frequently), or sniff your hands and demand to know where you'd been (daily), and to childishly resist saving innocent villagers from homicidal youkai (yesterday), the condition was widespread.

Half_ dog demons_, she mentally amended. She couldn't see Sesshomaru being particularly interested in smelling her fingers after a stroll in the forest. _Although he'd probably do an upstanding job of ignoring any screaming villagers…_

Kagome didn't quite know how it happened, but somehow Inuyasha had got inside her head. And now she was stuck with him. She was back home only after their habitual fight-sit-leave routine–_Thankyou, thankyou, here all week_- and yet she still wasn't thinking normally. _Damn him._

What had he called out after her as she walked away? Ah, a Shard Detector. Normally she didn't let his comments stick, but every once in a while he came up with one that stung. After all, it was half-true. He needed her, because it was her sacred power that made the whole she-bang possible. She needed him too, of course, but in a way she couldn't quite quantify and was beginning to suspect had little to do with his physical capabilities. Each time she ran up against this thought she always shied away, scrunched it up tight and tossed it towards her mental waste basket, but it was an insistent little sucker.

She realized she had stopped moving, her hands resting tranquilly at her sides while her brow furrowed contemplatively. _Snap out of it, Kagome._

God, it was just a stupid fight! They'd had it thousands of times before and they would have it thousands more. She was worrying over nothing. She would go back down the well again tonight, and even though she knew she wouldn't be able to live in the past forever-

_No, Kagome! Bad! That is The Very Bad Thought Which We Are Pretending Doesn't Exist and Never Will, understand? Would the next in line please step forward _God, she had one hell of a headache.

But what mattered now was that she would see Inuyasha momentarily and everything would be fine.

Absolutely fine.

Fine.

… … … … …

_It rained the day of Sango and Miroku's wedding._

_The cake was caught in the first shower and quickly rendered uneatable. Sango's hair was pulled from its carefully crafted upswept style and Miroku's fringe dripped water down his face._

_Inuyasha's ears twitched irritably while Shippou ruined his new clothes jumping joyously into muddy puddles. The other guests were forced to stand, miserable and cold, as their finery disintegrated around them._

_None of that mattered._

_In Miroku's eyes, Sango was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. His never looked away from her face._

_For Sango, this was the day she had been waiting for since she met the damn pervert. Nothing could bring her down._

_It was, as far as they were concerned, the happiest day of their lives._

_There was only one thing missing._

… … … … …

"I'm leaving now, Mama! I'll see you in a couple of days," Kagome called out as she left the house. She paused only to tap her foot for good luck at the front door.

Making her way briskly over to the ancient shrine, she shivered when a cold gust swept through her.

_Hm… Maybe I should have packed warmer clothes? Oh, I can't be bothered. Freeze me then, wind._

She was nearly at the door to the Well House when she felt what should not have been there to feel.

Facing the Thousand Year Old Tree, the Well House behind her, she hardly dared to breathe. It was rotten, it was old, it was evil, and _it was looking right at her_. She knew this sensation, this creeping feeling of terror and disgust. Only one being ever felt like this, and it was not possible that he was here, and he was _here_.

"No." Her voice was distorted by shock and rage.

The presence under the tree quivered when she spoke. It shuffled closer in anticipation; hunched down, bent over, secretive.

Y_es…_ That voice had always had the power to send a thrill down her spine.

"I won't let you leave here." Her tone was quiet; almost detached.

The creature chuckled, and before the echoes of his laughter were caught and twisted and torn away by the wind, he was gone.

He was gone, and Kagome was alone.

… … … … …

_In front of a Warring States style dwelling on a grassy hilltop a kitsune knelt before an ancient taijiya._

"_You raised me as your own, and I'll always be grateful to you. I love you like a mother, and you know I loved your husband as a father. Your family has been nothing but good to me, and I will never forget the memories we made together. But-"_

"_But you know in your heart it is time to leave."_

"_Yes__."_

"_I understand. I won't try to persuade you otherwise- I feel it too. But you must know that it breaks my heart to see you go." The woman placed both hands on the shoulders of the demon. "Shall I make your goodbyes to the children?"_

"_I think that would be best. You know how I feel about goodbyes... It's better for me to leave this way."_

"_The dogs?"_

"_They both have their work cut out for them keeping the peace in the West right now, and I will see them again."_

"_But for us, this is truly goodbye."_

"_Hm."_

_The kitsune, who was young by demon standards, was pulled to his feet by the old woman. She smiled gently, turned him by his shoulders, and gave him a small push in the middle of his back with the gold staff she carried at her side._

"_So leave already, then." The laugh lines around her eyes and mouth deepened._

_The demon didn't have to be told twice. He didn't look back, but began walking evenly away down the hill and out of sight._

"_Hey-" The old woman shouted after him._

"-_Don't forget!"_

_The kitsune did not slow and or show any sign he had even heard the monk. The only indication he was listening was a slight flicker of his red ears and a tightening around his shoulders. When he reached the trees, he broke into a run._

_The wizened figure watched until he was out of sight._

… … … … …

Kagome sucked in a huge gulp of air as the last lingering traces of his presence faded away. The hand clutching her bag shook, and she half stumbled, half fell, to lean against the solid wood of the well house.

She could feel cold sweat along her brow. _Come on Kagome, pull it together. This is you. This is what you do. Sure, he's on vacation and the setting has changed and you're out of your depth. Sound familiar? Of course it is. Come on… _

What was he doing here? More importantly, _how_ had he come here? Did he know about the well and its deep secret? _Oh God. _She needed to get back to the Feudal Era, and quickly. A sacred arrow might do the trick, but it had never been a question of sheer power with him- more cunning and guile. She wanted help. She wanted friends. She wanted someone to touch her and make her forget the dark.

He was the antithesis of all that was holy - friendship, love, hope, trust, Italian coffee, long days at the beach, clean sheets, cut grass, French bread, shower radio, Lindt chocolate, cute underwear models, long runs by the river, Madonna, old jumpers, puppies, kittens, rainbows – and he was _on_ her. There was no word to describe this feeling, the way he affected her. He affected her like none of the others. She knew because she had asked them, certain that they must be stronger than she, or more worthy, to bear it alone. Instead, she had found that she was the one who perhaps knew the most about what it was that made him. Wasn't she the lucky one, then.

It was not the monk, who wore the knowledge of his doom in his eyes and on his hand. Nor the taijiya, whose ghost was child-sized. It was not the fox-child, whose childhood was no more. It was not even the half-dog demon, whose heart was so broken by a lost love that all the King's horses and all the King's men didn't have a snowflake's chance in hell of _ever_ putting it together again.

Kagome could only say that when that Baboon mask stood before her, something else was reaching into her. It was like nothing and everything. It was numbness but in such a way that it was all-consuming. It was probably, she thought, the void.

_I've heard Kanna called a void before, and of course she is. She's the little baby void who came from the big daddy void. They're related by void, we might say. _

If the shadow of his icy grip - which she endured courtesy of her latent sacred power - had melted quickly away, she might have smiled. But it was not that kind. As it was, it was all she could do to move. Yet move she must. _Something_, she thought, _Has to be done_.

Kagome had always been a do-er. After all, the Sacred Jewel hadn't broken itself.

Ever so slowly, moving like an old woman, Kagome lifted her backpack into her arms. Then she turned back to the door of the Well House –_Push-_ and shuffled inside. She paused only to pull the sliding door shut behind her –_Heave_- then moved painstakingly forward until she was staring down into inky blackness and bathed in the feeling of _possibility_ she always associated with this place. She took another deep breath, just to be sure her heart still beat and her lungs still moved. Then, grasping her jewel shards tightly in one hand and her pack in the other, she leapt in the well.

…And landed with a sickening crunch, her hair in her face and her ankle throbbing angrily. No blue light; no special effects this time.

Kagome was alone, definitely in her own era, and Naraku was outside waiting for her.

_Oh my God. _

… … … … …

'_Here lie_

_Those who protected and served_

_Dearly beloved father and mother,_

_And loyal friends_

_May they Rest in Peace Eternal'._

… … … … …

**Chapter two will be featured in the merest of moments**.

**Please review. Constructive criticism is key. **


	2. Return to Narnia

**Hey, chums. Here is chapter two. Can anyone figure out the title of the story? Message me your best guess. **

**Is everybody having fun?**

_**Allons-y. **_

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… … … … …

'_No more truth. Bells ring no more in me. I am all alone singly. Lonely rests my head. O my God! I am dead'. _- _Jose Garcia Villa_

… … … … …

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Kagome crouched, frozen, at the bottom of the dark well. She was cold, it was night time, the world was asleep and she wanted to be tucked up warm and oblivious in her own bed. She definitely did not want to be in her current position, as it was… Well, less than ideal.

If only she could move.

She felt as though the minute she had understood the implications of the well no longer working, she had lost that ability. She was numb, head to toe, inside and out, and hours were slipping through her hands. Soon it would be light. Outside, anyway. She wasn't sure she knew what that meant anymore.

She did not know how long she sat there, staring sightlessly as the mud lining the bottom of that ordinary well. It could have been seconds, hours or a several eternities. What did it matter, anyway? This was just a well, and she was just a girl.

Just a girl in just a well. How trite.

Eventually they heard the cat wailing piteously and came to take her away. They lifted her out of the dark earth and she never said a word until they carried her into the light. Then she screamed.

… … … … …

**Time passed.**

… … … … …

_Bump-bump. Bump-bump. Bump-bump._

The first thing she became aware of when she came back to herself was the sound of her own heart.

_Oh, so you're still there_ she thought dimly, too drained to be surprised.

_Bump-bump. Bump-bump. Bump-bump._

She counted the staccato rhythm for a time.

_One. Two. Three._

Each thump was a small victory. She was alive. What should have killed her had left her alive. She wasn't sure how much of her had survived, but she was definitely alive.

_Four. Five. Six._

Kagome remembered who she was and where she was. She even remembered what had happened to her. She remembered her shock and what might have been her heart breaking, because whatever else Kagome was, she was quick, and she had known the end of the story from the moment she landed in the well and it was a dark and desperate one indeed.

She remembered the fights and the campfires and the fun. She remembered the battles and the blood and the anguish.

She remembered everything.

She just didn't feel any of it anymore.

_Bump-bump. Bump-bump. Bump-bump._

… … … … …

**Time stood still.**

… … … … …

The segment of The Sacred Jewel was (officially) neglected.

It remained in darkness for many sunrises and sunsets –that is to say lightshadows and darkshadows, which is all that they were in the dim interior of the mistress' wardrobe- before it reached this conclusion. Now, however, it was clear. Its destiny was apparently to be that of a dust collector rather than soul-shaker and rule-breaker. Fabulous.

This was definitely new. In all the jewel's long years of, well, _existing_, no one had ever tried to deny that existence. Sure, demons and humans alike (and even some who didn't fit either of those distinctions) had fought and died to posses it while mountains and oceans alike had trembled at its power- but it could honestly say it had never been bundled into storage. _Shoved_, might be a better word. It had been _shoved_ into a bag of old clothes and left on the highest shelf to rot in darkness. The jewel had been sought by pretty much every dangerous criminal known to man (or any other species), but it had never been thrown away like so much garbage. It was some time before it even began to understand the situation, unfamiliar as it was with the concept. Hey, it might have said, had it had a mouth. Do you _know_ who I _am_? Unfortunately, it did not and could not.

Many other things had changed too.

For one, the textbooks were in the same proverbial boat. Neither had been had been given much thought since the day the owner had been carried into her bedroom, wet, muddy and with a face like cold marble, and turned her face to the wall for longer than, in their experience, humans tended to do that sort of thing. The green uniform which had been so over-worked in times gone by now hung idle in the back of the mistress's wardrobe. On top of that, all the stuffed toys which had sat at the bottom of the mistress's bed for so many years were now tucked tidily away God-knew-where and that large yellow backpack which she had once found so useful had vanished. In their place sat traditional kimonos and miko robes, books filled page after page with tiny, pompous fonts and a sturdy bow- the last of which had replaced the stuffed animals in the proud position at the foot of the mistress's bed.

Yes, there had definitely been changes.

Times were hard for all.

… … … … …

Kagome knelt quietly, inclining her head every so often to show she was paying attention as the old man explained in detail the finer points of a prayer which would, he claimed, drive away any lower level malevolent spirit.

This lecture was not so different to those she had endured throughout her childhood and early adolescence, but it had one very notable difference. Kagome was not interrupting her grandfather, haranguing him into silence or, most common of all, flat out refusing to remain in the room. She was focused – and not for show, but to properly commit his words to memory.

The young woman who sat listening to her grandfather the priest was a very different person from that girl.

For one thing, her hair was pulled back into a traditional style and she was wearing the white and red of a priestess. Her posture was straighter, pulled taught like a notched bow string. Her mouth curled in a new way. Her eyebrows arched in a vaguely sardonic manner. More shocking still, she didn't fidget or interrupt with thousands of questions which used to bubble from her lips to distract and amuse her lecturer. The glint in her eyes was sharper.

Here was a girl, a casual observer might conclude, who looked into your heart before she reached out for your hand.

Kagome had changed, and those changes ran deep.

The first thing to go had been school. After all, what use was school? She knew her abilities. She knew what she was capable of and knew, much more importantly, what she was _in_capable of. Kagome determined that she needed a great deal more training, and as the classes detailing feudal era miko techniques and ancient warfare were low priority at her school, she would have to find it somewhere else. At first she made a token effort to keep up with her coursework while she spent every spare minute in the company of mystical experts. But the strain quickly became evident and that, as they say, was that.

_What do they teach in these schools? _Kagome heard C.S. Lewis had been fond of asking. Nothing, she had decided, that was really worth knowing. She had her Narnia to look after. After all, she had made that choice the very first time she stayed home 'sick' in favour of the quest for the shards. _Sometimes_, Kagome thought, looking back, _People don't know the bridges until they've crossed them. But that doesn't mean you're not going to find yourself on the other side. _

So Kagome chose crossbows. And longbows. And daggers. And all manner of weapons both close-range and long, spiritual and mundane. She moved out of her cosy little schoolgirl universe and discovered that the modern world needed heroes too. Sacred power, it turned out, had never ceased to be in demand. It had simply ceased to be in supply. _So_, she thought. _So. _

The demons never saw her coming.

… … … … …

Of course, her mother tried to talk to her. Months after The Bone Eaters Well started doing its impression of The Entirely Ordinary Well, she came across Kagome in a quiet moment, swinging a two-handed spear under the shifting shadow of the Goshinboku.

Her daughter flicked a glance her way, but didn't stop moving.

"Sweetheart," Her mother started to say, then stopped, apparently at a loss. To cover her confusion, she squinted up through the branches off the tree to the blue sky beyond.

Kagome still did not slow her arm. She was prepared to wait.

Mrs. Higurashi seemed to find what she was looking for in the clouds.

"Kagome," She tried once more, "I know you miss your friends, and that maybe you think that this is the best way to honour them. But… I just don't want you to look back and regret your choices. Do you ever wonder if you're... Making the right choice?"

Kagome didn't say anything, but she did lower her spear. Studying her mother's warm brown eyes, not without compassion, she saw duty and pain and sacrifice and knew this was a woman who knew something about the wrong choices.

"Mama..." Her voice was soft, but her mother knew straight away.

"Well. Alright then," She sighed.

"I'm proud of you, darling. You know that, don't you? So very proud."

And if her tone were not entirely convincing, and could not mask an underlying sadness, that didn't make it untrue.

The future became the present as easily as it had always done, and the new Kagome moved forward with determination, a private scar and a heart still firmly rooted in the past.

… … … … …

Kagome swung hard at her opponent's head, only to have her strike blocked. She reacted by spinning away quickly before coming in low with a side kick. Her arms and legs were a blur as she danced around her opponent, never quite reaching him – though not for want of trying.

Her opponent was harder to pin down still. The two were moving at speeds that made it impossible to even beyond a doubt establish his gender through his unisex black pants and singlet, let alone distinguish his facial features. He was clearly smaller than Kagome, but that didn't really mean anything.

Kagome, knowing that her opponent was on the defensive, increased the ferocity of her attack. She smirked to herself as she really went for it, lunging under and _up_-

Her opponent fell.

There was silence for a few short minutes while both combatants caught their breath.

The man –no, _girl_- lying on the ground smiled sheepishly up at her.

Kagome smiled tightly back, and reached out a hand.

"Thanks," The girl took it easily.

She slipped to her feet softly and fluidly. In another life she could have been a dancer, Kagome mused. She brushed the thought away irritably. Much better to be a pretty girl with a natural grace who knew where to stick a knife than a pretty, graceful victim. She was one of the lucky ones. Not everyone could count on the training this girl had taken for granted most of her life, as Kagome well knew. It was her family she had to thank, a family that Kagome had found living in almost total isolation on a plot of land which officially had no owner and, Kagome was sure, probably never would. They had means at their disposal, these ones. An official here, a judge there... Somehow, it would never be up for sale. Once, Kagome might have thought that was dishonest, or unjust. Now she liked to think she could appreciate life's greys a little more.

_Life is one big grey area, and my particular colour is protect-as-many-people-as-you-can-in-the-best-way-you-know-how. What could be wrong with that?_

The demon slayers – no relative of her old friend, as far as she could tell, though they shared an eerily similar ethos in an era which valued fast cars and telephones over demon slayage – lived together in an open plan commune where they began their training as young as two. It had taken her weeks to track them down, following the merest breath of a whisper from the big city to this place of trees that did not even have a name, and when she arrived she could not say they had been welcoming. _Again, shades of grey_. _I used to think that hospitality and kindness were what mattered. Instead, I find that what really matters is having people to guard my back and share the burden of protection that too many other people have turned their backs on._ Who cared if there'd been a little tying up or a little stabby things in faces (a _lot_ of stabby things in faces, if truth be told) at the beginning of their association? In the grand scheme of things, a kind welcome sure wasn't going to save the world. _The stabby things in faces approach sure might, though..._

"What are you smirking about?" Her sparring partner inquired. She was probably only a year or two younger than Kagome herself, but she was slight and had a deceptively innocent air.

"Oh, nothing. I think it's time I went to see the man though."

"Yeah, good luck with that."

… … … … …

Kagome slipped out of bed, alert in an instant, and moved silently to the phone.

The rest of her family was asleep. It was dark, silent, late. _The witching _hour, Kagome thought, meaning that in the most literal sense of the phrase.

Kagome was prepared for one of the more specialist duties she now performed at the shrine - alternatively helping and hurting the youkai population as required – when she entered the kitchen, but definitely not to reach for the cold receiver, raise it to her ear and hear a familiar voice.

"I found the trail."

It sent shivers done her spine. She gripped the phone in fingers which were suddenly bloodless and something jumped in the vicinity of her ribcage.

_Bump-bump. Bump-bump. Bump-bump. _

Kagome didn't wait for the dial tone. She was out the door in moments, leaving one phone receiver swaying gently on its cord. She had somewhere to be.

As it turned out, revenge didn't need to be served cold.

Not if you were hungry.

… … … … …

**Time**_**jumped**_.

… … … … …

**Review, you know you want to. **


	3. Rune Beast

**This is for emaraldmoon14. You're a babe, thanks for reviewing!**

**I have a whole bunch of scenes written out and I'm stringing them together, please let me know if you detect any lack of continuity.**

_**Allons-y.**_

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'_Eagerly, the rune-beast stalked through the mists and the cold fog-wraiths that drifted from the marsh; it breathed cold clouds against the stars.' –__Catherine Fisher_

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… … … … …

There was a scent on the wind. The creature raised its head, luxuriating in the floral texture. A dull ache awoke deep within, and it put one tentative limb forward. A great gust enveloped the creature, drenching him, filling it with desire. Slowly at first and then faster, it half-slithered, half-flew into the dark. The only sound in the night was the sound of its own ghostly breathing and the wind-hiss of branches flicking against its skin as the beast accelerated.

Closer, closer. So very close now.

The resonance of open air beckoned up ahead where bleary starlight wavered through the leaves. The hunter gathered itself for one last great burst of speed. Saliva pooled in its mouth and eyes opened wide in anticipation. Beyond the trees, a voice rose and fell melodically.

The hunter sprang, shooting forward with bullet-fast speed, and laughter abruptly cut off.

… … … … …

Easing gently around past the door frame, Kagome held her breath, anxious not to wake the family. The door latch swung gently closed behind her and she breathed in, relieved, filling her lungs with the damp night air. Now she could really move, and move she must, because Something was happening. There was blood on the wind, and she needed to know why.

**Step one**: Locate victim and then stand by and wait for back-up. For those without backup, take it really damn slowly.

Flexing swiftly, Kagome knew she didn't have any more time to waste. Something was happening _now_ and wasn't about to sit around waiting to be killed. Or sealed. Or banished to Hell. Kagome certainly couldn't say she was picky.

She took off, her feet pounding against the concrete. The noise seemed outrageously loud, but it was just an illusion in the pre-dawn silence of the streets. In fact, she found the noise soothing; a comforting reminder of battles already survived.

At the end of the street she took the corner at a dead run, snapping and curling her body around the bend. There was no time to slow down. Left, right, right, jump, straight. The turns blurred into one another as Kagome was drawn hectically forward by an internal compass; an affinity for destruction. Trees took shape against the night sky as she sprinted towards a park, its benevolent daylight nature muted in darkness.

The hair on the back of her neck stiffened, and she knew she was close. Now the need for haste must be balanced with a need for silence and she decided it was time ease off. Controlling her breathing, Kagome slowed, creeping down a gloomy avenue ringed with tall trees. At the end of the path something grunted.

**Step two**: Release your weapon's safety catch. Or, if you are a crazy feudal priestess throwback, notch that bow.

Smoothly and silently, Kagome slid an arrow from the casing at her back. Light arched upwards, glancing off metal and she frowned, peering at a shape on the ground next to an innocuous bench. The clearing was small and tidy. The figure in the centre was not.

The smell was overwhelming.

**Step three**: Send that mother straight to hell.

… … … … …

There was something in the air. Hiei could smell it even downtown, and as they edged closer to its uptown source the smell became overpowering. Kurama ran alongside him, apparently relaxed, but Hiei recognised a faint disgust simmering beneath his bland expression. The others, meanwhile, were making their way along the ground as Hiei navigated buildings and the lack of buildings and studied the approach of the faux-forest. He curled his lip.

_Humans... Always needing to pretend. The cut down the real thing only to build a pretend one. They must be the most-_

Loud and creative cursing exploded behind him as Yusuke failed to avoid a curb.

-_Purposeless, stupid, pointless, idiotic, useless-_

Kuwabara, keeping up the rear, interrupted what had promised to be a detailed mental rant with a breathy exclamation. It was a mere release of breath, really. But this subtle reaction did what Yusuke's histrionics had not- caught the attention of the group. Their collective pace slackened and they looked to Kuwubara for clarification. Hiei, for his part, shot him a narrow look which he seemed to feel like a physical weight from far below, because he picked him out against the rooftop.

"You should keep going straight," he called up, "I can feel spirit energy rising up ahead. A whole damn lot of it." Hiei needed no further urging.

He led them into the trees.

_Five…_

The trees were thickening.

_Four…_

Without speaking, they turned west. Now every member of the team could sense the strange, darkly exhilarating feeling that arose from powerful demon energy. They would never need any map; never have to stop and confer. The power of such energy pulled at them, awoke in each an intrinsic need to find and to _fight_.

_Three…_

Hiei could see a clearing up ahead.

_Two…_

There was someone standing in the clearing, and someone lying down.

_One…_

The person lying down was dead.

… … … … …

Kagome sensed them long before she saw them. The only thing she couldn't sense was the danger she knew lurked nearby. She strained, painstakingly searching the trees for movement or the slightest reflection. Meanwhile, four figures erupted into the clearing, taking on various combative postures.

Kagome didn't spare them more than a glance; a quick once over to check for pointy things heading in her direction. Seeing none, she swiftly decided they could make nice later. She needed to concentrate now, try to pin down the source of that tingling in the small of her back. There was something so _familiar_ about this situation…

There were a few moments of stillness where the only sound was the sound of her heart in her chest while the newcomers took stock of the situation. There were four of them, and they wore black. It was Kagome's strong belief that any man or woman was innocent until proven guilty, and while demons were often guilty and often wore black, that did not constitute an invitation to attack innocent people. So she held back, focusing on the one she _knew_ was evil.

Someone called out across the clearing behind her. He might have been speaking tongues for all Kagome cared. She was wound tight as the notched string of her bow. _I know you're here… Come out, come out, wherever you are… _

At that moment, a _thing_ erupted from the trees and Kagome flung herself to the ground, saving her life by the barest of margins. She glimpsed one shining, serrated claw before her vision was obscured by her own arm. Though demonically quick to her feet, she was not quick enough to confront her assailant.

She watched her arrow fly straight and true, slaying a nearby tree, but the creature was long gone.

_Damn_.

… … … … …

Kurama was quickly revising his understanding of the situation. In fact, he was beginning to think that it might be a damn good idea to heave to in aide of the anonymous fighter. He had a heavy, lethargic feeling in the bottom of his stomach, which didn't bode well for the near future. Something very bad was going on here.

He stepped warily towards the centre of the clearing, frowning.

"There's something here." It wasn't a question and even if it were, he doubted the other fighter was listening. There was a strained set to his shoulders, and he seemed absolutely focused on the murky tree cover. Kurama didn't blame him. He was getting a little tense himself.

A disorienting noise in the manner of a thunder-clap, deafening in the stillness, rang out across the clearing.

It echoed crazily- that he could not tell where it had originated. It could have been a product of the air itself for all he could tell.

… … … … …

Kagome fought to maintain her composure. _Bone_, she decided. _It grabbed something to snack on and I didn't even realise. Even for a demon, that's pretty fast. I'm guessing this makes it more animal than human_.

Good to know. Different degrees of demon stalked the streets and different approaches were necessary for each. _A rogue, human-class demon would not give in to a basic desire like hunger, before ensuring all bystanders suffered the same fate. But animal class are governed more by instinct than intellect._ This was good news, and gave Kagome hope that this might be resolved quickly and efficiently…

...Until something crashed into her from behind with heart-stopping force and Kagome, still listening to the cracking of bone, mentally shrugged- _Of course, I might just be dealing with a really, really clever demon who knows enough to use noise as a decoy. Double damn._

Exercised to the point of daily exhaustion, Kagome was in peak physical condition, and the great and mysterious powers bestowed on her at birth which Kagome privately referred to as her 'priestessy kickarse-ness' didn't hurt either. But sometimes you just couldn't see 'em coming.

Rolling and twisting hectically in the real, physical world, she avoided the monstrous knife that was aimed at her jugular but felt something _crack_ in her chest. _One rib down, many more to go, _she giggled woozily. Scales were rough against her face and she struggled for air under the immense weight of the thing. Pulling back, she kicked out with everything she had, just managing to shift her attacker enough to roll hectically away. Flowing fluidly to standing, desperately slowing her breathing and the pounding of her heart, she was in time to see the creature's furry trajectory interrupted by a deadly _hiss-snap_ as something, a snake? flicked out and tightened around one limb. Happily, it brought it crashing to the ground.

Events sped up. Suddenly there were attacks flying in all directions as four other figures joined the fray.

It was a strange battle. The newcomers seemed to have a common goal with The Girl Who Recently Overcame Near-Death but they were wary of her, and would not show her their backs. In between arrows, she thought them wise. They had no idea what they might be dealing with. _And you do?_ A snide inner voice demanded, rising above the mayhem of battle. _Poor little Kagome, who has undergone such suffering and has sacrificed so much for the greater good. Poor little Kagome, who did what was expected. Poor little Kagome, who did what had to be done. Poor little Kagome, who did what was_right.

_Don't act,_it sneered,_Like you never had a choice._

The pain in her side and the roar of battled drew her back to reality as, before her eyes, the snake flickered once again. But now she saw it was not a snake, but a green serrated whip-

For a moment Kagome thought she witnessed the silent grace and arrogant bearing of another man in another time, another whip. But the demon she had known would surely never strike with such fervour. Disdain, yes- passion, definitely not. Nor did he have red hair. He was beautiful, though. Captivating, even...

Then his weapon snapped back and he was forced to duck aside, sidestepping one flashing claw.

And so his black companion stepped up to the offensive.

_Ah_, Kagome thought. _There it is._

This one fairly dripped disdain, while his glowing hand said 'I will kill you, and soon'- Though not in as many words. The beast saw it too, and focused its attacks his way. Unruffled, he dodged with impressive speed.

_Hm. _This one she could work with.

Seizing the moment, Kagome raised her bow once more, eyes lit with terrible determination.

"_Get down-"_she cried out to the figure between her and her quarry, "_If you want to live-"_

The boy –no, man- turned her way, but he had yet to react to her warning. She hesitated, struggling desperately to reign in the power which was surging within her.

'Down, _now_!' She cried tersely, as her arrow began to burn pink fire.

Eyes narrowed, he reacted to the stirring combination of fear and pain and exhilaration which laced her words.

He hit the ground.

_Smart move. _

His fellows followed suit, but Kagome was in no condition to spare them much thought.

She could feel raw magic surging within her - and it was not a tame or gentle force, but one which threatened to overwhelm her very self. In Kagome's experience, magic was a dark and pitiless compulsion which, once triggered, could not be denied. If anything at all had held true in her life, it was this: an object in motion remains in motion. It was true of life, it was true of physics, and it was certainly true of sacred power.

_Thankyou, Ms. Fitzgerald. Who knew year nine science wasn't all nonsense?_

Kagome knew many things. She knew that maths was not her forte, that no one in their right mind would believe a lie told by her Grandfather, that yellow snow was bad and that demons who used their power for evil had to be stopped.

Knowing this, she released her hold on her magic- _Ahhh…_

A blazing arrow sprang forth.

For one small eternity, the clearing was illuminated and shadows lengthened behind the prone forms of her allies. The only sound was the shiver of the arrow in flight as all movement ceased. Seemingly transfixed, the people on the ground stayed spectacularly still and silent while the arrow arched high, then higher still.

Her target, a distorted shape which defied comprehension – she recognised a tail, one threatening pincer and light reflecting dimly off dull scales- seemed similarly mesmerized. The moment was fast approaching when it would be inevitable that the creature be struck-

But it was not to be.

The beast reared back as if already wounded as the arrow closed. Something odd about the movement caught Kagome's eye. It half-twisted away from the clearing, shooting a lighting-quick glance to the forest behind it. It was, Kagome had time to think, almost as though the beast were responding to some private sense.

Then it was gone, half-galloping, half-slithering away; the arrow extinguished in a tree which would be very well sealed for the next, oh, thousand years. Goshinboku, eat your heart out.

The light from her arrow was quenched and the clearing dark once more. Kagome released the breath she had been holding.

_Quadriple damn. _

... … … … …

.

**Okay, seriously. Please review. I have cake. It could be your cake.**

**See what I did there?**

Love,

**Moosey**


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